by Jeff Foster – April 2020 Newsletter
https://www.lifewithoutacentre.com/
What is the point
of arguing with life as it is?
Here is the miracle and paradox of change. When we tire of our internal violence, when we are no longer at war with the way things are now, when we no longer argue with the present scene in the movie of our lives, we come to rest. And then, from a place of rest and a deep connection to the ground of Now, new vistas open up, unexplored forests of possibility reveal themselves. New connections are made, new solutions emerge. From a place of equanimity and acceptance, things that seemed certain are now not so certain, blocks are no longer solid blocks, old futures begin to collapse and new futures become possible. Energies that seemed intolerable a moment ago are now allowed in, allowed to move, to express and release their creativity and healing power. Because our eyes are open, new details are apparent in the present scene, details that we had become blind to, in our rush to “a better future”.
From a place of deep internal peace, we can more easily take the next step. And sometimes the next step means taking no step at all, but falling deeply in love with where we are! This is NOT the same as giving up. This is not passivity or indulgence in the ‘negative’. This is not the same as abandoning all hope of a better future. There is no abandonment here. This is true courage: The willingness to slow down, be present, drink in all the richness – the joy and the sorrow, the doubt and the creativity – of the present scene of the movie of our lives.
The movie of “I” has not been written yet; it writes itself as we go along. And in resisting the present scene, you are actually resisting the entire movie. Resistance can only breed resistance.
Sometimes, the point of arguing with life, is to get you to a point where you are tired of arguing with life! And then perhaps, exhausted from the war, you sink deeply into the present moment, resting in its embrace, trusting the way of things, accepting your own imperfections. And then everything seems possible, and everything feels alive as you feel alive, and real change can come. Perhaps slowly, perhaps in a great tidal wave. But you are no longer pushing for change. You are letting it happen. You are aligned at last, no longer part of the problem, but already an expression of the solution.
Sometimes you need to stop trying to change the moment, for the moment to change all by itself.
– Jeff Foster